Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 11:10
For this is [he,] of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
10. Behold, I send, &c.] Quoted from the Hebrew of Mal 3:2. The LXX. rendering of the passage is different.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For this is he … – The passage of Scripture here quoted is found in Mal 3:1. The substance of it is contained also in Isa 40:3.
Prepare thy way – That is, to prepare the people; to make them ready, by proper instructions, to receive the Messiah.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 11:10
Which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.
Preparations for Christs coming
God does not seem, as a rule, to allow any great truth or blessing to burst upon the world without some sort of preparation. In this case two series of preparations:
(1) Prophecy, educating religious souls among the Jews to look out for a Messiah; and
(2) St. John Baptist, to point Him out when He had come. Johns business was, first of all, to gain the ear of his countrymen, and then to say, The kingdom of heaven is at hand, and afterwards to announce Jesus as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Thus John was, in the kingdom of grace, like those gifted men in the world of thought, or in the world of practical life, who are always ahead of the mass of people around them; they have the inspiration not of supernatural grace, but of natural genius, which is itself a gift of God, though of a different order of value and power. They are like lofty mountains whose summit the sun has already lit up, while he has not yet poured his beams upon the plain beneath. They are alone on their watch-tower; and, if they say what they think, it is only to be smiled down as enthusiasts. Two requisites for work like that of John Baptist:
I. Courage to tear the mask from evils and abuses, and this implies
(1) a firm, definite conviction that certain things are absolutely true, worth working for, suffering for, and (if need be) dying for; and
(2) Independence, i.e., detachment from those motives of subservience which, at critical times, stay the hand and silence the tongue of ordinary men.
II. Disinterestedness. A man may be brave, and yet he may be selfish; he may work and endure, yet only for himself. John Baptist had to resist this temptation. Some of his disciples would have liked him to become the founder of a new religious school. But he himself never yielded to the temptation to make selfish capital, in the way of influence or consideration, out of his popular power. He ever regarded it as his highest work and glory to bury his own miserable self beneath the surpassing greatness of his commission from Heaven. (Canon Liddon.)
John as forerunner of Jesus.
I. Tis written in the prophets that such a messenger she,rid go before and prepare the way of the Messias.
II. St. John was the person, or he of whom this was written.
III. In what manner did he prepare the way of the Lord?
1. Not with any worldly pomp or splendour.
2. Not by calling upon the inhabitants of the earth to meet their Lord in state and magnificence.
3. It was by preaching repentance, and turning men from their sins. (Matthew Hole.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. Behold, I send my messenger] A fifth excellency of the Baptist was, his preparing the way of the Lord; being the instrument, in God’s hand, of preparing the people’s hearts to receive the Lord Jesus; and it was probably through his preaching that so many thousands attached themselves to Christ, immediately on his appearing as a public teacher.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
St. Luke hath the same, Luk 7:27,28, only he saith, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. It was written, Mal 3:1, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. The latter part was a prophecy of Christ. The former part a prophecy of John the Baptist, and applied to him not in this text only, but Mar 1:2; Luk 1:76; 7:27. Christ is set out as a great Prince, who sends his harbingers before him to prepare his way, and by Johns preaching we may learn the ministers duty, who are to prepare Christs way to peoples souls, viz. to preach repentance and faith in Christ.
Verily I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there hath not risen a greater; that is, (as Luke expounds it), a greater prophet; i.e. amongst all the prophets of the Old Testament, God raised up none greater than John.
Notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Mr. Calvin and many others think that by this phrase is to be understood, the least of those who shall preach the gospel after my resurrection will be greater than he, that is, as to their doctrine. John could only declare me to be come. They shall preach me, as having died for my peoples sins, and risen again for their justification, Rom 4:25. The death and the resurrection of Christ were indeed great points of the gospel, which John could only prophesy of, not preach of, and declare us things in his time accomplished.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
For this is he of whom it is written,…. Mal 3:1
Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. That these words belong , to the world to come, or the times of the Messiah, that is, the Gospel dispensation, the Jews z themselves own; but as to the particular person meant by the “messenger”, or “angel”, because they are not willing to acknowledge the right person, are at the utmost loss. Jarchi makes him to be the angel of death, who is to destroy the wicked; Aben Ezra conjectures it may be Messiah the son of Joseph, who they fancy will come before Messiah the son of David. Kimchi thinks an angel from heaven is designed; and Abarbinel Malachi himself: but the more ancient sense of the synagogue was, that the same person is meant, as in Mr 9:5 under the name of Elijah the prophet; and some have thought, that Elijah the Tishbite himself, is intended; though others think, that some great prophet of equal degree with him, and who is called by his name, is what the prophecy has regard unto a; which last is the true sense of the passage: nor should it be once called in question, when our Lord himself has applied it to John the Baptist; to whom the things said in it perfectly agree. He was an “angel”, not by nature, but by office; a “messenger” sent by God, “before the face” of the Messiah; six months before him: such a space of time he was born before him; and such a space of time he entered on his public ministry before him; and “prepared” his “way before” him, by preaching the doctrine of repentance, administering the ordinance of baptism, pointing at the Messiah, and exhorting persons to believe on him. All which proves him to be, what Christ says he was, “more than a prophet”.
z Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 15. fol. 219. 4. a Vid. Pocock in Mal. iii. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
1) “For this is he, of whom it is written,” (houtos estin peri hou gegraptai) “This (John the Baptist) is the one concerning whom it has been written,” or prophetically foretold, Luk 7:27.
2) “Behold I send my messenger,” (idou ego apostello ton angelon mou) “Behold, I send forth my messenger,” send him on a mandated mission, as recounted both by Isaiah and by Malachai, Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1.
3) “Before thy face,” (pro prosopou sou) “Before thy face,” “to confront you face to face,” but to make a way for you, Mr 1:1-3.
4) “Which shall prepare thy way before thee.” (hos kataskeuasei ten hodon sou emprosthen sou) “Who will prepare your way before you,” as recounted by the last Old Testament prophet about BC 397, Mal 3:1. And he (John the Baptist) did prepare a people for Jesus Christ, the Messiah, Joh 3:27-29; Act 1:21-22; Act 15:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(10) This is he, of whom it is written.The words in the Greek are not taken from the LXX. version of Mal. 3:1, but are a free translation from the Hebrew. In the original it is Jehovah Himself who speaks of His own coming: Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me. In the Evangelists paraphrase it is Jehovah who speaks to the Christshall prepare Thy way before Thee. The reference to the prophecy of Malachi in the song of Zacharias (Luk. 1:76) had from the first connected it with the Baptists work, and our Lord in thus adopting that reference, stamps the whole chapter with the character of a Messianic prophecy.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Behold, I send my messenger John is more than a prophet; he is a messenger; nay, even THE messenger before the Messiah’s face. Our Saviour here quotes Mal 3:1.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“This is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, Who will prepare your way before you.’ ”
‘It is written.’ This always signifies words which have the authority of God because they come from the Scripture. What is so written is God’s truth.
And what was written? That the prophet that they had gone out to see was the one announced beforehand by Scripture, the very messenger of God, who was sent by Him to announce the coming of His Chosen One. The words are taken from Mal 3:1 as affected by Exo 23:20, and are as found in both Mark and Luke. But they are slightly different from LXX. For while LXX has God sending a messenger to prepare the way for Himself, here the messenger is sent to prepare the way for His Messiah, that is, for Jesus. This application of verses which speak of God to Jesus is common in the New Testament. It is interpretive translation. But for Jesus to so casually apply it to Himself brings out the unique status that He claimed as ‘the Son’ (Mat 11:27).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 11:10. This is he, of whom it is written See the note on Mal 3:1. Dr. Hammond observes, that what is here before thy face, is in Malachi before my face, or before me. Hence it appears, that Christ, here referred to by the word thy, is there the same with God; or, yet farther, that the face of God, signifying often his coming or presence; and the sending before his face, the sending a harbinger or fore-runner in a journey (Luk 9:52.). This coming of Christ into the world, is the coming of God himself; this presence of his on the earth, the presence of God himself; and so the , or covering of the ark, noting the presence of God, appears to have been meant as a type of Christ, Rom 3:25.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 11:10 is not an interpolation by the evangelist (Weizscker); on the contrary, it forms the connecting link between Mat 11:9 ; Mat 11:11 . The passage is Mal 3:1 , and is a free rendering of the Hebrew and not from the LXX. In Malachi, Jehovah speaks of His messenger going before Himself; here , He addresses the Messiah; before Him will He send the messenger (not an angel ). A free application without any substantial change in the contents of the passage, also without any special design in view; comp. remark on Mat 3:3 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
10 For this is he , of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Ver. 10. Behold, I send my messenger ] Gr. , mine angel. So Phinehas is called an angel, Jdg 2:1 . The priest an angel, Ecc 5:6 . Ministers of the gospel angels,1Co 11:101Co 11:10 . Ministers and angels have exchanged names and offices; for are they not all ministering spirits? Heb 1:14 . Did not angels first preach the gospel, Luk 2:9-14 , the ministration whereof is now committed to us? so that if there be a messenger, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his righteousness, then will God be gracious unto him, &c., Job 33:23 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10. ] Our Lord here changes the person of the original prophecy, which is . And that He does so, making that which is said by Jehovah of Himself, to be addressed to the Messiah, is, if such were needed (compare also Luk 1:16-17 ; Luk 1:76 ), no mean indication of His own eternal and co-equal Godhead. It is worthy of remark that all three Evangelists quote this prophecy similarly changed , although St. Mark has it in an entirely different place. The student should compare the passage in the LXX with the three citations, h. l., Mar 1:2 , and Luk 7:27 . Also, that the high dignity and honour which our Lord here predicates of the Baptist, has a further reference: He was thus great above all others, because he was the forerunner of Christ . How great then above all others and him, must HE be.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 11:10 . . The verified and explained by a prophetic citation. The oracle is taken from Mal 3 , altered so as to make the Messianic reference apparent changed into . By applying the oracle to John, Jesus identifies him with the messenger whom God was to send to prepare Messiah’s way. This is his distinction, , as compared with other prophets. But, after all, this is an external distinction, an accident, so to speak. Some prophet must be the forerunner, if Messiah is to come at all, the last in the series who foretell His coming, and John happens to be that one a matter of good fortune rather than of merit. Something more is needed to justify the , and make it a proper subject for eulogy. That is forthcoming in the sequel.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
of = concerning. Greek. peri, as in Mat 11:7.
it is written = it standeth written.
I send, &c. Quoted from Mal 3:1. See App-107 and App-117. Compare Mar 1:2. Luk 1:17, Luk 1:76; Luk 7:27.
messenger = angel. Greek. angelos.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10. ] Our Lord here changes the person of the original prophecy, which is . And that He does so, making that which is said by Jehovah of Himself, to be addressed to the Messiah, is, if such were needed (compare also Luk 1:16-17; Luk 1:76), no mean indication of His own eternal and co-equal Godhead. It is worthy of remark that all three Evangelists quote this prophecy similarly changed, although St. Mark has it in an entirely different place. The student should compare the passage in the LXX with the three citations,-h. l., Mar 1:2, and Luk 7:27. Also, that the high dignity and honour which our Lord here predicates of the Baptist, has a further reference: He was thus great above all others, because he was the forerunner of Christ. How great then above all others and him, must HE be.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 11:10. , …, for this is he, etc.) This makes John much greater than that what is spoken of[518] in Mat 11:7-8, could.- , , behold I send my messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee) In the S. V. of Mal 3:1, we read, , , , …, behold I will send forth My messenger, and he shall survey the road before My face, and suddenly shall arrive, etc.-, I) The Father addressing the Son.- , My messenger) John was sent by God as a messenger, after whom came the Messenger of the Covenant Himself.- , before Thy face) Immediately before Thee. The LXX. have (immediately) in the passage just quoted. John was not a prophet of distant events.-See Luk 1:76. The advent of the Father and of the Son are the same, and so is the language which applies to them. It is one of the strongest arguments for the divinity of Christ, that those things which are said of Christ in the New Testament are quoted from the Old Testament, where they are predicated as exclusively belonging to God.-See Gnomon on Joh 12:41; Act 2:33; Rom 9:33; Rom 14:11; 1Co 1:31; 1Co 10:9; Eph 4:8; Heb 1:6; Heb 1:8; Heb 1:10-11; Rev 1:8; Rev 1:17.
[518] viz. His being a reed shaken by the wind, or a man clothed in soft raiment.-See Gnomon in loc.-(I. B.)
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 3:3, Isa 40:3, Mal 3:1, Mal 4:5, Mar 1:2, Luk 7:26, Luk 7:27, Joh 1:23
Reciprocal: Luk 1:76 – thou shalt Joh 1:6 – a man
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:10
Jesus makes references to the predictions that had been made of John, which are recorded in Isa 40:3-4; Mal 3:1. The pronouns I and my stand for God, thy and thee refer to Christ, and the messenger means John the Baptist.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 11:10. It is written. Mal 3:1. The last of the prophets had foretold of John. His office as forerunner of Christ made him greater than them all.
Behold I send my messenger before thy face; etc. The original prophecy is: Behold I send my messenger before my face, etc. (The latter part of the verse contains a direct reference to the Messiah.) Here, and in Mar 1:2, Luk 7:27, it is changed into a promise of God to Christ Our Lord on His own authority (Mat 11:9 : I say unto you), applies the phrase, my messenger, to John, and the word thy to Himself, thus appropriating a pronoun referring to God. Comp. His discourse on a previous occasion (Joh 5:17-47), in which He refers to His relation to the Father, to John, and to the Old Testament prophets.